Container closure flap



Nov. l5, 1938. w. H. BRACKEN 2,136,669 y CONTAINER cLosURE FLAP FiledJuly 8, 1956 INVENTOR. B WMM @MU/MQ MMM M *WM ATTORNEYS Patented Nov.15, 1938 UNITED STAT carica CONTAINERCLOSURE FLAI.

Wallace H; Bracken,JRye, N; Y., assignor to Hart#- mann Trunk Company,Racine; Wis.; ,a"corpo" ration of Wisconsin Application July 8,1936,`Serial-llo` 89,509

tainers;- suitcases and` the like, certain sections. 51.1 of y the. sameare .provided with flaps securable over theffaceof arsectiontozprotect,cover, con'- ceal4 andzsegregate garments and articles in said section;`Withthe advent of the sor-called hookless fasteners it -.has been'common practice to ltreleasably joinmeeting edges of said flaps by arlineof h'ookless fasteners and the practice has;

been tohave said line of fasteners extend adiacent and parallel to aside edge of the container section,` with, the result"l that the slidefastener:

-1is`manipulated by moving itpalong the line of connection zparallelto asection' edge. It twill be readily appreciated that `with saidpriorarrangement,` even though the container is closed, if said side' be`exedhor bulged slightly a tampereror` jL pilfezrerlcan4` reach theslide fastener and easilyv manipulateit totrelease and open, the closureaps: and :thereby reach articles `withinV said -section ofmthecontainer.

Recognizingfthis disadvantage inherent to the'.

Z5` prior arrangements, especially when the same are applied to acontainer having readily flexiblev ordistortable walls, the present`invention seeksto overcome `said@V objections by providing con-- tainersection closure flaps and connecting means: 3`0-`th`ereior which arearranged and constructedsoV that operationA and `opening of Ithe` samecannot bei effected `from-limited crevices at any onevside` ofthecontainer section.

Asa specific object of the invention a closure. 315i flapfarrangernentis provided wherein the linesof` connection of the complementary flapsextendv 4a. A further object of theinvention is lto provide threetriangular complementary closurel flaps for acontainer; withfslidefastener means applied to the meeting edges of said flaps-and arranged.

so that when the slide fasteners are in closing ad position lthe samearerelatively close to one an other and may be connected and secured by alock. i

A ,further object. of the invention"A isto'Y `pro-- vide container"`closure `flaps,whichare easily,

55, arrangedandmanipulated, which. are neat and;

attractiveV inf. appearance,which` are inexpensive, and evvhichmare'-`Well: adapted. for the purposes described.

These-and other specicobjects and advantages willfbefapparent fromthe=following detailed de- 5 scription.A

Aclearsconception `of an embodiment of the invention may be had byreferring to the drawing accompany ingrand` forming-apart ofothisspecification?. in. rwhicl'i` like-reference. characters 10 designate.the same-or similar parts in the various ,views e' n Fig.1.isarp-perspective view=of a suitcase fof the type'.equippedninteriorly`with! the improved clo` sure flaps for i the 'suitcase'sections; 15.

Fig...2f.is .-afrplancview of the suitcaseinA open4 position showing.closure` flaps for-:both sections thereoi,said,closure flaps vinreach`instance being secured together in closing relationship;

` Fig.` 3 is .2a uvertical sectional vview through thel 20 open ysuitcase..on line :3--3 of Fig 2 Fig .4 si-,an-` enlarged vfragmentaryview showy ing joinedAportionsof-ea pair'of adjacent closure iiaps;and.; Y p

Fig.,5 awfragmentary detail y sectional vie takenron line; SP5-effige4.-"

While theainvention'hasbeen shown herein as beingL specifically, applied'toa certain type vof suitcasefitwillbe apparent that the; novelfeaturesare-capablefof moregeneral applicationto cases, luggageycarriers and-containers in gen-V eral,. and` Athat.th`e.speciic.disclosure should not therefore -beconstrued,asan intent to limitthe scope;

For' sake of illustration the invention is illus- 35 trated. in-a,suitcase such as is. illustrated in Figs.

1, 2.and..3.rk Thersuitcase .isfzof the type wherein thewallsothereoffarerelatively" flexible and includes a bodyfsection I0 anda wardrobe section H. Said'sections are hingedly connected to- 40 getherso as to permit the same to open out as in' Figs; 2 and or tobesecurec'i'togetherin complementary'closed relationship asin l'ig. 1.The suitcasev-isprovidedAJ with -conventional handle means:|2forrconveniencein' carrying the same, 45 ands straps or other* `suitablesecuring means r I3 fori-holding. the: sectionswtogetherrin" closedrelationship.

When thersuitcasemr container: iszopened up eachcsectionis-'fofxU-'shape in Lcross,` section: .and 50 the upper end thereof isopen. For the purposeV of release-bly; closing thef' open end of Seachsection-f and-fior::protecting:` covering and maintain-f ing thearticles i' and Y garments in said sectionsin proper? relationship;theiimproved closureaps are applied to the open portion of each section.As will appear most clearly from Fig. 2, the

closure flaps for the section I0, for instance, in-

clude a pair of similarly shaped triangular end flaps I4 and I5 and anintermediate flap I6 which is in the form of a truncated triangle. Eachof the flaps I4 and I5 is foldably secured along its straight side edgeto an upper wall portion of the section I0. The other edges of Asaidflaps I4 and I5 are normally free. The intermediate flap I6 is foldablysecured along its inner edge to the inner or rear wall of the section I0as at I1 in Fig. 3. r f

The diagonally extending inner edges of the flaps I4 and I5 carryextension bands I8 which' are adapted to be overlapped by the diagonallyextending free edges of the intermediateap I6. There is also securedalong said diagonal -edges of the flaps I4 and I5, adjacent the outerfaces of the bands I8 and inwardly of the free edges thereof, a, line-ofhookless fastener elements I9 adapted to cooperate lwithlinesofrcomplementary hookless fastener elements secured along'the freediagonal edges of the intermediate flap I6. Each row ofhooklessfasteners I9 is adapted to be engaged with the adjacent ele- 1nents"20on the flap I6 by a slide-fastenerfelementZI. f

Assuming that the closure'aps I 4, I5 and I6 are allv securedtogether-in closing relationship as in Fig. 2 and thatit isdesired toseparate said aps and open the same for access to the section I0, it ismerely necessary to move the slide elements- 2lY indiverging linestoward the rear or inner end of the section lIl), thereby disengagingtheA adjacent linesfof hookless fastener elements; thereupon thetwo sideflaps I4 and I5 may be turned over laterally ofthe case section, and theap I5 may be folded rearwardly affording complete access-tothe sectionVIIJ. When the section I is packed and-it is desired to completely coverand protect the articles therein and to. close the section, the outeredge Hap 22 is first folded inwardly and then the aps I4 and I5 arevfoldecl'over the vopen end'of the section I0, and lastly theintermediate section I6 is arranged as shown so that'its outer edgesslightly overlap the outer free edges of the end flaps. Thereafter theslide fasteners 2| are 'moved forwardlyV along the engaging lines` ofYhookless fasteners to secure the same together, and after securement thetwo slide fastener-elements 2l terminate at the forward end of thesection relatively close together. The tabs or flanges 23 Vof theseelements are aperture'das at 24, and the same may be connectedtogetherby a snap pad lock 25 as shownin Fig. 2; AWhen said elements areso locked together," operatijon'of the same to open yor releasel theaps' is of lcourse prohibited.

The complementary section II of the suitcase is equipped with similarlyarranged aps I4', I5 and I6', and the same will V not be vdescribed indetail. The abutting edges ofrsaid flaps are arranged with hook.lessfastener rows I9 and 20 as previously described'and as shownin detail inFig. 4. Slide fastener elements 23 traverse said abutting rows, and theVsame maybe joined at their forwardrconverged ends by a lock 25. f j

In the suitcase illustrated the body section I0 is adapted to containmiscellaneous garments and travelingparaphernalia while the section IIhas'movably mounted therein 'garmentfolding and draping means includingone or more removable hangers 26 and a panel 21.

From the disclosure and description it will be apparent that theimproved closure flaps are effective means for securely covering andclosing the open ends of the suitcase sections. The utility of these apsis obvious when the suitcase is. open as they cover and protect thecontents of each section, and furthermore, due to the arrangement of theslide fastener elements and locks, each section may be closed and thenaps locked against undesired opening, even when the case sections areopen. Perhaps the greatest utility in the present invention resides inthe particular arrangement of the flaps and lines of hookless fastenerswhen the suitcase is closed as in Fig. 1. If the flaps were held inAclosed position by means of fastener elements y extending parallel toany free edge of a case section, it can be readily understood that if aside Wall portion of the case were bulged 0r flexed, a tamperer mightreadily insert his nger into the crevice thus provided and manipulatethe fastening means and thereby release the naps and gain access to thecontents of the section. This contingency is absolutely prohibited bythe present invention, and it has extreme usefulness when incorporatedin a container having flexible walls. It will be noted that the joinededges of all of the flaps extend in diagonal directions relative to anyside edge of a section. Therefore if access is gained to'a sectionthrough any bulged or flexed crevice lat a side portion, it will beimpossible to manipulate the slide fasteners, even though the same areunlocked, to an extent suncient to gain access to the section. This isdue tothe fact that the operation of the slide elements must be on aline at an angle to any edge of the section, and the further the slideelement is moved for opening purposes the further it will be from thecrevice through which entrance was effected, land said operationsuicient to effect opening is precluded unless, of course, an entireWall of the case is mutilated.

With respect to all of the closure flaps, it should be observed that thesame may be formed of material which may be plie-d so as to present anouter surface or layer which is strong, tenacious, and weather and dustproof, while the inner surface, layer or ply may be of a suitable fabricto harmonize with the interior lining of the container. Incorporatingthis material on the inner surface of the flaps eliminates the need ofadditional protective or lining material on the surfaces which contactarticles and garments in the container.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the improvedclosure flaps for containers provide tamper-proof means when thecontainer is closed, and they also provide effec.- tive means forclosing sections of the container when the container is open, and forbeing locked in closing relationship.V The flaps and closure meanstherefore are compact, simple and easily tary aps for closing the same,each being foldably secured along an edge to a side of the section, freeedges of one of the flaps meeting a free edge of each of the other aps,hookless fastener means along both pairs of meeting edges, said flapswhen joined forming a quadrilateral figure with a pair of converginglines of severance, slide fastener elements movable along `said fastenermeans and lines of severance, and

a lock for joining the slide fastener elements at the convergedends ofsaid lines adjacent one side of the container section.

2. In a container section having an open face,

the edges of the container surrounding said open face being rectilinear,three complementary flaps -for closing the face of said section, freeedges WALLACE H. BRACKEN.

